Totally awesome.

One of those weeks.

2012-01-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been one of those weeks. We've been working on our new house for 3 weeks now. I feel like we are in slow motion. With my 2 kids I feel like I could have done all the work so far in a couple of days if I was by myself. You really cant get anything done with kids. It's been really hard not living there cause we have to pack up and spend the morning or all day there. Which means we are not really at home. We have no internet yet so the kids cant watch what they really want to watch. They want to put their hands in the miter saw and roll the paint brush up and down the wall while wet. They don't want to play with their toys or watch the movies we have on a flash drive. So.....we get nothing accomplished. I am so over working on the house. I haven't been there for 3 days. Since tomorrow is Saturday I'm not looking forward to spending the entire day down there. BOO........

We've done really nothing this month except spend all of our money on fixing up our house. We don't have a lot of money to start with but we want it the way we want it cause we figure we are going to live there for a real long time. So we don't want to take short cuts or do something that is "ok" just because we cant afford how we really want it. Little by little I guess....hahaha

Max is obsessed with Caillou (kill me), Thomas the Train, Yo Gabba Gabba and Dinosaur Train. He is talking a ton. Repeating a ton and saying "No" to me a ton. My patience is wearing thin with him and it's hard for me to control my temper with him cause I know he knows better but choses the wrong. He's still my cute little bear and is sweet sometimes.....but.........grrrr...

Molly says few words, but not much. She finally graduates into nursery the first week in March. I can't believe she is old enough for nursery. I feel like she is still 6 months old. She gets beat up by Max on a daily basis. Max takes all the toys away from her and tells her "no" all day long. She never gets to play with a toy longer than 10 seconds. I feel bad for her, but it just makes me more mad at Max. Another reason I lose my temper with him. This is going to sound awful, but I don't care. Days like Wed, thurs and today I wish I was single again. To go where I want to go whenever I want. To sit on the couch and watch whatever I want without having to pause, turn up the volume or just miss certain parts because I'm breaking up a fight. Not having to lose my cool cause I don't have a little 2 year old on my hip . I know this is temporary feeling but oh I'm definitely feeling it. I pray at night and make sure Heavenly Father knows I truly am grateful for my kids. I really am. They are just trying me lately and I hope we all make it out alive. Especially Max...........hahahahaaha

Oh, and I have the greatest husband in the world. I don't tell him ever...but I do...He puts up with my crazy and just does everything to make me happy. I'm lucky.

I don't have any pictures because I really haven't taken any.....This is weird.

And it's over...

2012-01-01T21:09:00.000-08:00

It has truly been a sad couple of days since the passing of Christmas day. Tomorrow the lights will come down off the house. The tree will be broken down into pieces and the balls will be put away. It really is sort of depressing for me. For the past 2 years we left Arizona on New Years day to Colorado so it wasn't so hard. Traveling took the edge off. This year we really couldn't go since we put all of our money into our new house. We are sad we didn't get to leave and I am even more sad that the remnants of Christmas are now gone. We did have a good time. We started our Christmas Eve off partying at the folks house with the deep fryer in the back yard. We all brought food to throw in the fryer. It was all fun until we ate too much grease and then we were all sick. We sang around the fire and eventually made it home to finish up getting ready for Santa to come. The kids got their Christmas jammies and had no clue of what was actually going on. I think it was more fun for Jim and I to pretend they were excited. Christmas Day came, went to church, opened presents then made it back to my folks to watch music videos, eat dinner and open up gifts. We did a shoe exchange this year. But really the pictures say it all. I'll have to post our 2011 music video after this post.

2012 starts today. I have many resolutions that I would like to try out this year. None of which are physical which surprises me. I don't know if I want to have a baby this year or keep waiting. I want to have another but I don't really. I would just like one that comes out at 12 months. 21 months of being pregnant and taking care of a baby doesn't sound so much fun to me right about now. So maybe I should just start working on my New Year resolutions and become the person I really want to be. That sounds better.

Yes a couple of days before Christmas a I got some skin cancer removed. It's healing rather nicely. I'm sure I'll love the scar on my shoulder. I have 2 more I need to get removed but the process is rather annoying.

Our Christmas Tree

Christmas jammies

She loves her books.

Max's favorite toys were Molly's. She still has yet to get to play with them.

Jim was really excited to get his coin jar that digitally counts his money. haha (not really)

Bass Pro shop. We tried to wait in line for Santa but every time we went down there the line was an hour long. So this was the best we got.

Christmas Eve

Christmas day ready to go to church. Yes, there are certain days of the year that involve "matching". Jim had a matching tie and I hate matching shoes and dress. Christmas is one of those days.

We built a cardboard fort for the kids to play in. Well I didn't build anything, the guys did.

Christmas night.

Our shoes.

Eric gave all the guys T-shirts. Don't tread on me logo

Christmas chips n cheese. Not nachos

Max's baby. Santa gave it to Molly, but she doesn't get to play with it. It's Max's baby.

Ho Ho Holiday is here.....and almost over.

2011-12-12T07:17:00.000-08:00

I wish time would STOP now. 2 weeks before Christmas is a perfect time. It's almost time for the big day but not too soon. Before I even blink Christmas is going to be over and I have to wait for a whole year to pass before it comes again. Sometimes I feel like a little kid. Except for the desire of many gifts. I just love the season for decorating, goodies, music and events. It is just fantastic.

Waking up this morning thought has been a really weird feeling. A feeling of not having anywhere to go. No where to rush my kids off to and no commitments. It's almost a little scary. I know I should be more excited but I am just left with this really weird feeling.....maybe it will go away.

Calli put on a Christmas show with her studio FUSE PERFORMING ARTS. It turned out really good. It was extra cool because our whole family participated. Eric, Kyle, Josie and Eric's Kim including myself were all in it. Oh and Calli too. It was really fun!!

We tried to take a family picture for our Christmas card but it just was too boring looking. Our kids look so cute but the picture itself if just a little boring. So I'm not using it.

Our Christmas tree this year. Blues, pinks, greens and silver.

Temple lights. Max was amazed.

We took the kids to this Train place in Scottsdale. I forget the name of it now. Our neighbor volunteers there since he is into model trains. He was the one that told us about it. Holy crap it was packed. It was really fun. They have all these lights and train rides for everyone. They have model trains inside that Max thought was so cool. He is obsessed with trains now.

Max on the train. We sat in these little cars as it took us around a park.

Our Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T15:29:00.000-08:00

We started the day out with a 5K. It felt really good to run. I probably haven't run for about 9 months. I didn't do nearly as bad as I thought I would. I smoked Jim thats for sure. My mom was nice enough to stroll the kids while she walked it. It just felt good to know that I burnt 300 calories of the 10,000 that I would soon eat. We headed over to my Aunt Carolees house to have dinner with the "Huffaker" side. Nothing too exciting happened. The highlight of the dinner was (K) Kim's sweet potato casserole. We usually just have the candied Yams which I made, but this year the casserole blew them away. As you can see below it was gone within minutes.

The next day was all about Christmas as usual. I made Jim pull out the tree for me. As he pulled the tree out he noticed there were all sorts of presents left for him. It seems a cat got into our shed and decided to pee and poo all over the place. Jim was shaking the tree and all sorts of fun was falling out from it. Jim was not happy. He wanted to throw the tree away. I wouldn't let him because it cost way too much to just toss. So he spent the next couple of hours spraying it down and disinfecting it. It took all day but we managed to get it all cleaned up. The kids are doing ok with not touching the ornaments and throwing them as if they are balls. They still forget and take them off the tree, but for the most part they are doing great. I've decided you just have to train your kids not to touch anything in your house at Christmas time. So far it's working. They can only touch the floor and couch. haha

The Turkey Trot.

Grandpa & Max

Grandpa & Molly

Nerd

Empty sweet potato casserole

Jesica & Addie

Aunt Lori and Uncle Darin Huffaker

Josie (my niece) was baptized on Saturday. Fenix really didn't want to be in this picture. haha

the new homemaker.

2011-11-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

Jim and I have been thinking a lot lately about me working and wether I should continue to work every day or quit and stay at home with my babies. It's been a 2 year process and it's finally come to an end. 8 years with Bank of America (4 with Countrywide) has finally come to and end. I put in my notice last Monday and will officially be unemployed by the end of the year. I'm sure many people think I'm crazy because I have a really good job and many people would kill for a really good job right now. It's hard to quit this job when you know that you will never find a job like this in my lifetime. I didn't go to college to become something that would pay me lots of money. (I regret that now) However, I went to college to realize working suits me better. Then once I had kids I realized that me staying at home with them suits me better. Financially I couldn't make that happen so I kept working. I guess Jim and I just don't care anymore and realize everything will work itself out. But it's done and in 6 weeks I will finally be able to wake up to my kids and put them to bed everyday. I'll be able to put them down for their naps and feed them lunch. Things I never was able to do because I had to go to work everyday. I'm grateful for my job because it allowed me to buy this house that we sleep in every night. I'm grateful for my job because it allowed us to save for things we will need down the road. So, something that I hate so much I truly am grateful for. So ask me in a year if I am still ok with the decision that we made. The answer might be different. hahahaha

My little babies sharing a bassinet.

I keep telling them they can't play with the fire pit. I'm not sure of the attraction. A spaceship? haha

Max trying to seed our hallway. I don't know why but he loves to push things around.

HALLOWEEN 2011

2011-11-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

We started off our Halloween weekend by having our 5th ward "trunk or treat". We ate hot dogs and went from trunk to trunk in hopes of eating more and more candy. Monday, we went to my folks house and ate hot dogs again. Are hot dogs the new Halloween food? We only were patient enough to take the kids to about 5 houses. Max freaked out at the first house because he had no idea what was going on. Once he realized they put candy in your bucket if you hold it out he was much better and much more willing. Molly carried her little pumpkin bucket and hat the whole time. I was very impressed. We then just partied down with the cousins the rest of the night. Mine and Jims costumes this year were "what we could find from our costume bin" costumes. We couldn't really identify what we were but it was fun finding things to put on. With the exception of his "Freddie Mercury" costume. He knew exactly what he wanted to wear.

Our totally awesome pumpkins we carved.

Our first party we attended. I was a pirate and Jim was...I have no idea. Just awesome, I guess.

Molly, the candy corn witch.

wench. (Pirate wench of course)

Awesome guy.

Astronaut

Actual Halloween night. I have no idea what I am. Just some sort of queen.

Freddie Mercury

Calli & Michael

Kyle (brother)--Zombie.

Molly, trick or treating.

Kim & Josie (sister in law & niece)

2011-10-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's getting that time of year again. The time where it skips fall completely and heads right into Arizona winter. I love when it hits Halloween time cause I know Christmas is right around the corner. But really though, who doesn't love to dress up all scary for Halloween? I think that may be one of my favorite things to do. Dress up, that is. We have already started our Halloween celebration by attending the Riverview ward's Sadie Hawkins dance. Their theme was "Halloween". We dropped the kids off in the nursery room and had 2 hours of eating, dancing and photo taking. It was fun and a good cause supporting my nephew's scouting troop. The kids have their costumes ready and can't wait to put them on. Jim and I are still undecided as always. We wait till the day before to figure something out. Hopefully we'll find something uber spooky.

Jim made this little picnic table for the kids. It is really cute, he did a good job. The kids love it.

One of my Young Women brought over a little kitty for the kids to play with. Max was so gentle and cute with it. It was so funny to watch.

Molly was indifferent. I think she likes the big kitties better. As you can see Max in the background is very interested in what the cat is doing.

Our totally awesome "Goth" costumes. Very appropriate for a church related function.

Kim and Eric were 1940 swinger Zombies. Not swingers as in they get around, but actual swing dancing.

Addicted.

Jim played bass for one of Calli's acoustic show's @ Fuse.

The perfect Fall mix. 1 candy corn, 2 peanuts and a M&M in one bite. The perfect bite.

Utah.

2011-10-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a trip to Utah to visit Brock and Jesica. It had only been a month since they moved up there, but we missed them already. We thought it would be nice for a change of weather and also an opportunity to maybe meet up with Jim's family. They live in Colorado so the drive is only about 5 hours. His brother Joe lives in West Jordan so we knew we could see him for sure. We all had a good time. Max and Molly got to see their Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Joe. We also went to go visit some cousins on my side of the family who I haven't seen in almost 10-15 years. It's funny though cause even though I never see them, I feel like I see them all the time. That is the greatness of the www. Everyone has blogs and facebook so it gives us the opportunity to keep tabs on peoples lives. It was fun to see everyone and we were really sad to have to go back to hot Arizona. It took us about 11 hours each way and that is one drive I really don't like to make. My kids were really good, but I hate it. It sort of made me want to move to Utah. I tell Jim this and he just tells me to wait until Winter and I would not think that. Which is most likely true but I have just about had it of Arizona.

Max & Molly are getting so big these days. Max is loving trying to be a "big boy". Well, with the exception of going potty in the toilet. He's saying many more words, but still his word for whatever he hasn't learned how to say yet is "baba". I'm so sick of this word because I have no idea what he wants. We both get frustrated trying to figure it out. He tells me when he's gone "poo" but only after the fact. I've tried sitting him on his small potty and I think he gets what he is supposed to do, but he refuses to do it. The second I leave the room after an hour of trying he decides to let loose. Yep, on the floor. So I'm not i much of a hurry to get him potty trained but it would be nice if it could work one of these days. Maybe he is just almost ready but not quite.

Molly is running around like crazy. We think she can say "where did it go" and "kitty" and of course "mom". She loves to play outside and heads for the door every chance she gets. She has become attached to her blanky. She always wants it around and gets mad if she can't find it. We tried to get Max to become attached to something when he was her age so he could put himself to sleep. But nothing worked for him. I guess it's something you have to start when they are babies. We gave her this blanket since she was 2 weeks old and walah....She's been waking up early with Max these days (6:00-6:30am) and it's making me crazy. We try to get Max to sleep in but he just wont. Now Molly is on his same sleep schedule so there is no sleeping in past 6:45am around this house. On the weekdays it's no big deal, but come Saturday...please??? Oh well.

This was all of us that went to Rodizio Grill in Pleasant Grove.

Arctic Circle run late at night.

Eating at some Mexican Food place. Molly was asleep on my shoulder.

The "Wray" side cousins at Bob & Rhonda's house in SLC.

Grandma & Molly

Teaching Max crucial face exercises.

Grandpa & Molly

Mom & Calli had a crush on this guy. They called him Aladdin.

Molly imitating us. She was looking for just the right shirt.

of course...cooking bacon.

Jesica letting Max water the garden.

I'm pretty sure she found this orange in the trash.

Max being cold.

The Birthday.

2011-09-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

At this point in my life it doesn't matter how old I am anymore. I never could understand how someone could forget how old they were until now. Up until a few months ago I though I was already 32 and would be turning 33. Jim had to remind me that I would only be turning 32. As much as being 32 sounds really old, it doesn't matter. I feel 27. So as long as I feel 27 I think I'm good for a few more years. I see a little more wrinkles here and there and make up is a little more necessary these days.

We celebrated my birthday this year by going to TGI Friday's. The food was just ok, but the balloon guy there was incredible. Turns out he was some guy that graduated from Mesa High with Kyle. He made the most amazing balloon people and animals. I never spent so much $ on a balloon, but I think it was worth it just to see him make these balloons. My actual birthday was on Sunday and we celebrated by ditching Stake Conference. I told Jim that I just couldn't do it. I couldn't pull together enough patience to sit there for 2 hours trying to get my 2 kids to sit still. Sacrament meeting alone is a challenge and I wonder how I make it through that one hour. So, Jim agreed that we could stay home and have our own Barainca Stake Conference. We learned about Jesus and watched a short film on why we are in debt to Him. It was a severely lazy day and I never got out of my pjs. We watched multiple episodes of Felicity because it is now on Netflix. Then we finished off the night with the leftover oatmeal cake my mom made the night before. The best cake ever!!

Max trying to copy Grandpa.

Buzz Light Year

Jim got me flowers.

and a wireless printer.

and a foot scrubber.

and a home made card.

More good stuff from the family.

Tempe Town Lakes remembering 9/11

Molly turns 1

2011-09-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Yep, my baby is ONE. She turned 1 yesterday and it doesn't even make sense. I am not sure how this past year flew by. She is walking everywhere and will copy things you tell her to do and is just getting so big. I am extremely surprised that I am not pregnant with a 3rd one by now. It's been nice to enjoy just my 2 kids and be able to get on my hands and knees and chase them around the house. I remember when Max was this age I was almost 9 months pregnant and I couldn't play with him. Sometimes I think having only 2 kids would be just fine. I imagine Max and Molly getting older and it would be somewhat quiet and nice. My Dad always says to have as many kids as you can afford. And I always tell him I should take back the 2 kids I already have. (haha) Seriously though as much as I want like 5 kids, I think 2 could work.

Anyway, sweet little Miss Molly is the cutest 1 year old around and we LOVE her so much. Happy Birthday cute face!!

This is a cute little Apron that Jim's Mom made when Jim was just born. She had a little one left and gave it to Molly. It's super cute!

Molly opening up her presents from Grandma Barainca.

Her own cake to eat!!

Showing off their EARS !

Her new Dora the Explorer jammies!

Oh so CALIFORNIA...

2011-09-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we had in mind what it would be like to take 2 kids ages 2 and under to Disneyland and we were some what right. As much fun as we did have, it's just not worth it. I think kids have to be at least 7 yrs old to not only have them enjoy Disneyland but for the parents to enjoy taking them to Disneyland. Max was scared of everything. He was scared of the life size Disney characters and scared of all the rides. Little Mermaid ride...yep, scared. The Bug's life train that moves about a mile an hour....yep, scared. He hated being in his stroller and he hated his monkey leash. I thought just maybe he would think seeing life size Buzz Light year would be awesome. I was wrong.

The next day we went Huntington beach. We met up with Kyle and his family. It was tons of fun, but it was too cold and too windy. I don't know why I even wore my swim suit because there was no way I was getting in the water. After about 4 hours of that wind, we were sick of it and left. So we had an early start on our trek home to Arizona. 48 hours of California was plenty for us. Molly is a "sleep in her own crib" baby so any other place is not suitable for her. Max was so tired he crawled up on the our hotel bed and was out for the night. I didn't hear one peep out of him. Jim and I haven't slept that close in a long time. I like my distance when I sleep. Just the 3 of us on a queen bed doesn't give a good nights sleep. Last night's sleep was the best ever. Not sleeping with kids and not hearing them cry.

I had the kids by myself for about an hour and a half. I let Jim go with Calli and Michael and ride some adult rides. My shirt was drenched I was sweating so bad. Lots of chasing and telling Max it wasn't scary.

Max turns 2 and why can't we win the lottery?

2011-08-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

My little bear is already 2. I hope today was fun for him. He got to play in the fountains at Riverview, eat some birthday cake and opened lots of presents. He loves his Mr. Potato Head and is learning how to ride is tricycle. He hasn't quite figured out the petals.

On a sad note. We had put an offer on a totally rad house a week ago. I had picked out exactly what I was going to do with it. Colors in the front room, rock removal in the front yard and thinking about all the awesome parties and gatherings we would have in the back yard. Oh and one more thing. A $450 cheaper mortgage payment. BUT....they accepted someone else's offer and we don't get to live their anymore. I'm not gonna lie, I am pretty sad about it. It would have been our "family " home big enough for all 15 of us. That is when we have our 13 kids. (or 4)

Oh well, back to dreaming about living in my current 1350 square foot home and never getting to leave or sell. I guess that is what happens when you are underwater a good $60,000. On a good note, at least we still have our down payment $$$$. Maybe I should just quit work and live off that. hahahahaha but serious.

Back to the question. Can't we just win the lottery? They say money can't buy happiness. But I say, if you are already happy and are not totally stupid with money, it truly can buy all the happiness in the world. Both of us working is not cutting it. We just want lot's and lot's of money and can't make it fast enough. I keep telling Jim to get on a game show....He just isn't motivated enough to try. hahahah

at least I have really cute kids. (and husband)

I am 2 !!!

Molly making herself sick from so much cake!!!

His new favorite toy. Loves the Mr. Potato Head. Probably because he still loves Toy Story.

Max got some books from Grandma Barainca. His favorite!!!!

Grandma Barainca bought Max a Train conductor outfit. The wood block he is holding makes a train sound when you blow into it. He thought it was super cool.

It was my Dad's 60th birthday yesterday. We threw him a surprise birthday party at Toby Keiths Bar and Grill. We invited all the kids, his brother and sisters and some of his long time friends. We all had a really good time.

Max's new tricycle.

Girls Camp

2011-07-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

I jut got back from being at Girls Camp for a week. Our stake heads to Camp LoMia. We left Saturday morning and returned Wednesday afternoon. The weather was amazing and I think we all had a pretty good time. You just can't imagine how much works goes into this one week at camp. I am amazed how much time everyone spends to give these girls the experience they hopefully will remember for the rest of their life. I missed my family so much and am so excited to be back home. I swear Max got taller and thinner and Molly grew more hair. Such cute kids....

All the leaders and stake staff from 5th ward.

5th ward Young women

Madison and me

Kim Huffaker, me, Deanna Bushman & Aimee Marziale

I stole Riverview's bus they used for their lipsync and took random pictures with it

Deanna Bushman, Carly Griffitts, Aimie Marziale, Kim Benitez

Kaylee, Kirran, Aubrey, Amanda

Natalie, Emma & Leandra

I came home to this. Max and Molly colored me a note and got me flowers. Don't I have such a cute husband to think of something like this. I trained him so well....hahaha

I got out of bed one morning to find this...Max had wandered into the family room and apparently it was too sunny for him. I am not sure what happened to the other lens.

Max didn't want to go to church.

Molly's ready to go

He does things like this instead of playing with toys.

dreamin to be like Kanye West.

The only picture we took on our Anniversary. Isn't it attractive?

Max, Molly & Adelaide.

The real world.

2011-07-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

I am kind of sick of hearing about how happy people are and how great they are at life. I think people just have to brag about themselves and their life to make themselves feel better. I mean, don't get me wrong, if that makes you feel good about yourself, keep it up. I just get exhausted listening to it and reading about it via the web.

I didn't graduate from college, I don't have a totally awesome job, I'm not really good at anything, I don't have many or any hobbies, I don't like scrap booking or having tupperware parties, I am not a photographer and yes, I am 32 years old this September.

But isn't having a home to live in with my super awesome husband and 2 kids, trying to do what is right enough? Why must people feel like they need all this "credit" for their life to be good? I feel accomplished just knowing my kids are alive and safe, there is money in the bank and we have a place to all home. I might hate my job and hate going to work 3 days a week, but my life is simple. I might be bored 22 hours out of the day, but my life is simple. I might complain to Jim 21 hours out of the day, but my life is simple. I might dream of having other people's hobbies, but let's be honest, I won't actually do any of them. I guess I'll just stick with my soda. This is my one and only hobby and I'm really good at drinking it. I mean, who doesn't love to go to Circle K and walk out with an ice cold 44oz drink?

Simple = good.

3 years married

2011-07-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

YES, it's been 3 long years. Seems like much longer....

Jim and I went to Las Vegas the weekend before the 4th of July. Jim's friend was turning 30 and a bunch of people went to Vegas to help him celebrate. We were only there about 24 hours, but it was still fun just to get away for a night. I met up with my college friend Melissa who lives there. We got to spend about an hour with each other. Not enough time....

Jim, Adam, Pat and Ian

For the 4th of July a few family members came over and we barbequed and swam. It was so hot, but we still had fun. Once the sun went down we set off our own fire works.

Adelaide (my niece) in her so cute swim outfit.

Jes and her Mom holding Molly and Addy

Molly being such a big girl and eating all by herself.

Since Max is turning 2 in a month I thought I would try to see if he was ready for some potty training action. After 2 days, a few pairs of wet underwear, Pee on the sofa, the floor, a book and Molly's leg, I decided he's not ready yet. We'll try in a few months. haha

Jim and I celebrated our anniversary of 3 years being married. He took me to this restaurant down town called De La Cruz. It was a different atmosphere but very interesting. Unfortunately I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. I felt really bad for Jim. We got a babysitter and we were home alone. The only problem I was in the bathroom and he was waiting in the other room. Whatever I was sick from lasted all night and I just had to sleep it off. It was a bummer anniversary for sure. I didn't even get a picture of us like I would have liked to and have in the past. I'm upset about it. Jim bought me a new camera and I got him a cup holder for his motorcycle. Both fantastic gifts.....

They had Flamenco dancing and a live spanish guitarist.

Time flies.

2011-06-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

Yep, I don't know how time gets away from me but it does. It's approaching July and I can't believe it. Max is going to be 2 in August and Molly will be 1 in September. Molly is crawling, walking with wall and couch support but not on her own. She hasn't yet realized that she could probably stand on her own yet. I'm not in a hurry to have her walking, so I'm good with that.

Our summer vacation is over and I guess we have nothing else really to look forward to. Girls camp is at the end of this month and I am pretty excited about going. Then by the 3rd day I'm sure I'll be looking forward to coming home. At least this time I wont be 8 months pregnant. (like last year) We are just enjoying our kids while they are still babies. Max is becoming such a big boy, learning new words, new attitudes, new skills. We finally cut his hair this past weekend. It took me 4 different sessions. For some reason when the clippers touch his head he thinks his scalp is getting shaved off. He screams and screams and cries so all the little hairs get stuck on his face from his tears.

Jim and I laughed so hard when we saw this picture. Their faces are too funny!!

Sitting watching TV. The bouncer is my sister in law's and Molly thought it was the perfect seat.

Eating spaghetti.

Max's friend Jake came over to play. I found all 3 of them playing in Max's room together. So cute!

I get to babysit my niece Adelaide twice a week. She is so stinkin cute and the kids love her. How did I get all 3 of them to look at me? Crazy!

Dominican Republic 2011

2011-05-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

It's hard to even write to tell how much fun we had. I am so thankful for my in-laws for letting us take this vacation. If it wasn't for them we would have not had this experience. It's definitely so much more fun NOT being pregnant. I cried about once a day because I missed my kids so much. We were pretty busy most of the day so I was able to keep my mind off of them. I knew they were being taken care of so I wasn't nervous anymore. We looked forward to our itinerary every day that the hotel staff left us the night before during "turn down". We usually started our day with an excursion of some sort, ate, ate lunch, ate, did step aerobics, swam in the pool, ate, drank Coca Cola Light or a rum free Pina Colada, showered, ate some more and then danced. We had long, super fun days. All of the Event staff wanted to dance with Calli. They called her "blondie". They were super funny and flirted with anyone and everyone. They definitely made our vacation more fun. We did ziplining, surfing and Parasailing. We also rode the banana boat which was totally awesome. Spent a lot of time eating nachos and cheese fries from the beach shack that was about 20 feet from where we layed on the beach. Oh, and the chocolate covered macaroons were to die for. AND the soft serve cones all day long. Calli and I got a little too much sun while surfing but healed without too much pain. The day before we left my Dad thought it would be really cool to get FRIED. He stayed in the sun 40 minutes without sunscreen and got extremely crispy. His ride home was not pleasant cause I'm sure he was in a lot of pain. All in all, we had a blast and hope that in 2013 we can drag more people with us wherever we decide to go. Sorry about the scandalous outfits you may see....It was so hot and humid and I don't think we ever took our swimsuits off.

Going home. It was a mixed feeling for me. I wanted to stay but really, really wanted to see my kids.

Countdown is 4 days.

2011-05-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, the countdown to the D.R. is 4 days. We are really excited. I am a bit apprehensive. I start panicking when I think about leaving my kids. I thought this would be a good idea, but I really hope I can enjoy myself. I know I will be thinking about the whole time. I leave them with a babysitter for 3 hours and I am thinking about them the entire time. I just have to keep telling myself that they wont remember this time in their life when they were sad and missed their parents.

Anyway, Brock graduated from ASU this past week and we were able to go to the graduation. We celebrated the next couple days with fun. I was telling my Mom at graduation that 9 out of the 6 kids and spouses have graduation college. That is impressive. She leaned over and said to me, "Shalene you will graduate one day". I nodded and said, "no I won't". haha I mean I guess if I have to in order to make a living, but the thought of ever going back to school makes me sick. I hated it since the 3rd grade and it hated me.

We were house hunting all last week because we decided that we had a good chunk of a down payment to buy a new house. It was so exciting. I was having so much fun. Well, then I met with my brother who is a loan officer and in order to get my payment to what I wanted, I would need an additional $20,000. So yes, are dreams of buying another house have been shut down. We have to wait a little longer and save like crazy. Which is absolutely no fun!!! So until then, we will stay put and put a little more effort in making our current home better.

D.R. 2009--WE WILL SEE YOU SOON!!

Brock's graduation from ASU

Molly loves the pool and loves to float.

Adelaide's first time in the pool

Spinato's.

Party in the backyard for Brock's graduation. BBQing

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

A day to celebrate your Mother. What a fantastic concept. It's almost like a second birthday if you train the special people in your life. Max was such a good boy yesterday. I think Jim told him in the wee hours of the morning that he had to be extra nice to me today. His top 3 gifts to me today

1. Changing his poopy diaper. Once the diaper is off and bum is clean, Max runs away and does NOT want a new diaper back on. I ask him nicely and say "please" come over to mommy and let her put a new diaper on him. He walks over to me and lays down right by my feet and let's me put the new diaper on without a fuss.
2. He sleeps the entire sacrament meeting.
3. I told him to go to bed and go "night night". He grabbed his blankie and walked right into his room, laid down on his bed and we didn't hear another peep from him. I checked on him a while later and he was sound asleep. Amazing!!!

Jim got me some flowers. I enjoyed them as I always do. Max and Molly some how typed me a card and let me know how much they loved me. It was super duper cute. Jim also told me that he love me more than Pat Sajak loves Wheel of Fortune. That must be a lot. I am one lucky Mommy.

Calli and I ended up making my Mom dinner. Fish and chicken tacos with rice and beans. Turned out pretty good. Especially the chocolate cake for dessert made by Jesica.

To my 2 Mom's (Candice and Phyllis) I hope you had a wonderful Mother's day. I hope you know how much not only I, but my family loves you and appreciates all the things you do as our Mom and their Grandma. Cant wait to see you!!! I think the countdown is 10 days.

Max building blocks with his eyes closed. haha

Easter Sunday

2011-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Max did really well finding all of his chocolate bunnies and eggs. We did a mock hunt a few days before to prepare him for Easter Sunday. Not only was this a great Sunday, but he didn't cry at all in nursery. This was the first time in about 2 1/2 months. Probably because I made the nursery leaders blow bubbles as I snuck out of the room. Either way it made me really happy. After church we made some deviled eggs and everybody took a nap. Jim had to stay after at church so he missed our totally awesome pictures we took outside. Max thought it was funny that we had to push the timer on the camera and then run really fast to sit next to Molly. That is why he is smiling in the pictures. I should do that more often. Later that afternoon we went to my cousin Brandon's house. Our extended family all got together and had a real good time. Max got to find more eggs and Jim and I got to eat a lot of food. A lot of food........

Also, we got into a car accident on Saturday afternoon on our way to a birthday party. Some guy fell asleep at the wheel and rammed into us at a red light. It was a pretty hard hit but we are all ok. Both of our cars are totaled. I cried Saturday afternoon because I was so thankful we decided to buy that car last year. We knew we didn't need a car that big, but we bought it anyway. If I was driving the Mazda, my kids would be either extremely hurt or dead. So I'm grateful we were in our Armada, but I'm sad it's gone.

Jim was trying to hide an egg under his double chin. I guess he's not as big as he thinks he is. haha

Molly playing with her Barbie.

They think it's really funny to be in the same crib together. They sit there and stare at each other and laugh...It's pretty funny.

One day later. Molly is playing with the Barbie's leg. Max is playing with the actual doll. Good thing the doll lasted a day.

Easter pics

2011-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

We had Calli snap some photos of us in the kids totally awesome Easter outfits. Of course we didn't get one good family pic, but we got a few of the kids and that is really all that matters. This is just a few of them.

Max and his cousin Alven.

They grow up too fast.

2011-04-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

Jim and I were playing with Molly last night and we both starting thinking about how fast our kids are growing up. People tell you that all the time when you first have a baby. When they would say this, I would always think, "oh please grow up!" Well, it is true. There is a part of me that wants Max to be able to talk to me and tell me what he wants and go to the bathroom in the potty. The other part wants him to go back to about 8 months old. Molly is almost 8 months old and I want time to stop. She's getting ready to crawl, she can clap her hands when we say "yay" and she moves her arms out when I un-buckle her car seat strap. This is when you know they are getting older. Yes, it's absolutely adorable and I love every second of it but I just want to cry. I just made myself cry right now. My visiting teacher came over today and was talking about how scared to death she is for her oldest to be in his "teens". She doesn't know if she's ready for it. This makes me think to myself....Is there any time in these kids life that doesn't scare the total crap out of us? I feel like newborns put me into a borderline panic attack. Then once they start crawling, walking, eating real food...then people tell me about the terrible two's?? WHAT THE CRAP!!

Anyway...Right now I would like time to slow down. My kids are acting pretty good for me as they are. Well, with the exception of Max going to nursery. He's the one I think has a panic attack. He screams and cries the entire time. I feel so bad for the nursery people. I really do......

Oh, and by the way, sorry to blog about my kids. I know everyone always does and I'm sure it's really annoying. Too bad.

These are pictures of them at the same age. Too funny!

Molly eating a fudge pop

Max too.

Playing after bath time

BATHTIME!!! (Max was covering up his privates)

Max sliding down the slide at the park all by himself

She's officially starting to sleep on her side and tummy which is an obvious sign she's getting older :(

Max eating lunch on the couch.

Molly learning how to clap her hands.

almost time for a....... VACATION!

2011-04-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

Yup, the countdown begins....I think we are on 7 weeks until our totally radical tropical vacation. When we went 2 years ago, we said we would be back every other year. Well, then we had 2 kids and didn't know if ever would go back. Well, we decided we HAVE to go back...AND, without kids. Even though I know I will cry every night because I miss my kids and worry about their safety, I am really looking forward to this vacation. We had a good time back in 2009, but I was 6 months pregnant and couldn't do any of the excursions. So this year we are going to blow a ton of money and have the time of our life. My in-laws are so awesome. They are driving down here to spend the week with our kids. We figured our kids wouldn't be such turd's if they were able to be in their own surroundings. I don't think they fully know the challenge they have a head of them, but we are so thankful for them doing this for us. I thought about taking them with us, but the flight alone made me want to stab my eye out. Max wouldn't make it ONE hour on a flight right now. He has way to much energy. So we'll just take them to California before the summer ends...this way we can just drive.

Almost EASTER.
I love Easter or the days around the holiday. I didn't expect it to already hit 100 degree's and have to turn our A/C on but it happened. I love trying to plant flowers in my yard and buying Easter outfits for the kids AND Jim. I just can't wait. Usually the flowers and plants end up dying because I am the worst gardner in the world. I have faith that my bogenvilla's (I can't spell that) will survive and I will not kill them.

General Conference usually starts off the Easter season (with the exception of a few years). We started a tradition of caramel pull aparts in the morning and continuously eating on the hour of every hour. We didn't do a lot of watching or listening to conference with our kids running around so we'll have to re-watch it another day. This is what we did instead....oh wait, we did nothing.

The yummiest, greatest things ever. Caramel pull aparts. Rhode's rolls, butterscotch pudding and BUTTER. I had 3, Max had 2, Molly ate a 1/4 of one and Jim ate all the rest.

My kids just finishing their soda's.

Just kidding...I really don't give them soda. They just love squishing the cans and throwing them around the house. Nothing like pop stains on the carpet.

We didn't hang out with them on Sunday, but we did visit over the weekend. Adelaide Huffaker was born last week. She is truly dreamy.

Brock........a new daddy.

When we go over to Brock and Jesica's house, Max only plays with their 2 dogs. He will stay outside for hours just running around with them. He love them. And the dogs love Max. We always joke that Max is being raised by the dogs and he is turning into one. This is him when he finally wants to come inside.

Molly just hanging out in her underwear.

Snippity snap shots

2011-03-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

We took Molly and Max to the temple today and took some pictures. They didn't turn out very well given we only spent about 15 minutes. Max wouldn't sit still and Molly decided she wasn't going to smile after the first 30 seconds. Oh and Jim left her hair bow at the house. I was so mad .....oh well.

Disneyland 2011

2011-03-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

For some reason the more I go to Disneyland the more I love it. I used to go in Highschool for dance and I absolutely hated it. I've gone the past 3 years now during Spring Break and I fall more and more in love with the place. My mom's school performs there every year and she always is trying to find someone to go with her so she doesn't have to hang out by herself. So being the favorite daughter, she asks me. Just Kidding, I'm sure I was the last of her choice. Either way, I don't care, I get to go to Disneyland. I was single the first time, took Max the 2nd and went by myself this time. I know it may sound selfish, but my kids are just too small to even have fun. Plus they wouldn't keep up with my Mom and I as we are running back and forth with our fast passes and late night Tower of Terror rides. Oh how we at so much. I think we ate every hour on the hour. Wether it was churro's, deep friend corn dogs, pineapple whips, ice cream bars it was oh so good. I thought for sure I had gained 5 lbs in those 2 days. I lucked out and only gained a pound.

Tea cups with one of the teacher's from my Mom's school.

She's thinking if we should wait an hour to go on Space Mountain.

BUZZ--Took this pic for Max

Our totally awesome jackets we bought. We left our's in the car and didn't want to walk back to the hotel. So we bought $50 Disney jackets. You can't justify it, but we did it anyway.

Oh yes, the Monte Cristo sandwiches from the Blu Bayou. I don't know how to spell it, but they were so worth it. I dream about these things at night.

My good friend Bonnie B lives in LA and met us Friday night for dinner. It was fun to hang out and see her. And yes, dogs are allowed in this restaurant apparently. Really weird.

Tower of Terror

Babies.

2011-03-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

So lately I have felt this desire for baby #3. I know, I am totally nuts and out of my mind. I tell Jim and he gets mad and tells me to get over it. He says that he will not have a baby with me anytime soon. I also just have to look at my pregnant sis-in-law and it makes me think to myself, I don't want to be pregnant again. She looks super good for being 8 months pregnant. I just know how I feel when I am prego and I don't want to do that again just yet. I still am losing hair and if I have another baby I'm pretty sure I'll have to invest in a full blown wig when I'm done. I already have to wear fake hair (extensions) as it is cause I don't have any. Guess I'll have to cut it all off. Yes, I think I'll do that very soon.

I am sleeping through most of the nights and want to enjoy that a little longer. Maybe I'll have this chat again with Jim come July for a March baby. I think that sounds great.....

Oh how I love my babies. (most of the time)

Sometimes I love to just keep them in diapers. It makes them feel more like babies to me. And then I realize, wait....I really do have 2 babies. hahaha

Max learning how to eat cereal and use a spoon. He did pretty good. Spilled a lot of milk, but got at least ONE captain crunch in his mouth per spoonful. We were inspired to eat cereal for dinner thanks to Kirk's home video of a cereal party. We were going to make a video too and respond via facebook with it, but I totally forgot. So lame.....

Molly. Happy as usual. Dad dressed her this day. I thought he did a good job. Usually I'll pick her up from Kami's and she's wearing mismatched clothes and ALWAYS some sort of sweat pants. So weird.

Max trying on my glasses. We tell him to look cool and he'll put glasses on.

Max really wanted to go outside so I told him he had to get his shoes on. Well the only shoes we could find at the moment were his sandals from last summer. They are so lame and they are way too small. So I put them on his feet anyway AND with socks. I was crying I was laughing so hard.

Another moment I was crying so hard because I was laughing. I left the room while Jim was changing MOlly's diaper. I came back in and this is how she was on the floor. I fell to the ground because I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard. Why was she like this? Jim said this is just how she wanted to be at that moment.

These might be my favorite toys of Max's right now. I think they are so cute. I always line them up for him and we play guess that animal. He only knows about 4 right now. ( the farm ones) We just got the zoo animals so he has yet to learn them. He is talking so much lately....We enjoy it cause sometimes it can be really funny.

a tube top for a baby?

2011-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Never heard of these until Saturday. A family friend of ours gave this outfit to my sister-in-law (Jesica) at her baby shower. Jesica is having a girl so we just had to try it on someone.....It really is so super cute.

The Tazmanian Devil

2011-02-25T15:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am talking about Max. I feel like he is here then there in a second. One second he is standing in the drive way and the next he is across the street at the neighbor's. I've been super lucky many times that Max has not been hit by a car. I know better than to turn my head for more than a second. Jim is much better than keeping an eye on him. I need to get better and get better fast. I know my neighbor's think I am such a horrible Mom. I let him play in the front yard while I do yard work and I am constantly yelling at him and telling him no. He always seems to find his way down the street or across the street. Even when I am watching him. He's super fast and that is really dangerous.

Max also like to throw everything. This is something he has learned to do since he was about 1. We taught him how to throw and now he throws everything. He really does have an arm which makes Jim really happy. Only because he dreams of Max either being a professional baseball player or an NFL football player. He can throw straight to your hands from across the room. The downfall to this...............

Yes, he threw one of Molly's toys right at my face. I wasn't paying attention and then BAM. You could tell he felt bad so I couldn't get mad at him. But yes it really hurt and didn't stop bleeding for 20 minutes. I told him he couldn't throw anything anymore. I didn't get mad until about 25 minutes later he threw one of his blocks across the room. I picked him up and threw him on his bed and shut the door. Trying to help him understand that we don't throw ANYTHING. He is not allowed to even throw balls anymore. So every time he throws something he gets to go to his room and sit there till I am not mad anymore. I can only imagine if he threw that at Molly. OOhhhh, he would be in so much trouble.

Yes, Molly is getting the hang of holding her own bottle. I can't wait until she masters this task.

Valentines Day 2011

2011-02-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Max and Molly have been sick and it makes me sad. My sister in law is so nice to come over and just hang out with me. She knows I get cabin fever. She came over and helped me with my kids. It was so nice. She left and Jim came home and we enjoyed some fancy Jack in the Box. Jim ate most of it, but it was oh so good. We then enjoyed a slice of cheesecake, also from Jack in the Box for $1. It was really good. We got the kids to bed early so we could have our ALONE time. Jim really, really wanted to watch The Notebook. I think it's his favorite movie. He especially loves it when I fall asleep 30 minutes into it. I believe the time was 9:30pm. I guess that is what you get when you wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go to work.

He was so sweet to bring home flowers and some presents. He gave me a robe and some sparkly earrings. I gave him some chocolate and some other stuff. Oh and I can't forget about the Child's play. Oh how we love our candy.

Jim's parents sent Max and Molly some V-day gifts. They were so cute. Max especially love to eat the box of chocolates then spit them out onto the carpet. He thought it was funny that he could spit chocolate drool between his teeth. I didn't think it was that funny. Now I have chocolate, vomit, toast and banana's all over the carpet. So don't come over to my house and sit on the floor. If he could just learn to eat his food and when he's done he's done. Not be done and then throw all the food he didn't finish across the room.

This is what Max did all day. Take all the books off the book shelf.

This is what Molly did all day yesterday and today. She is not a happy camper. She has had a fever, pukes and just cries all day. It's so sad. She's like a heater she's so warm. She better get better cause I can't take it. It makes my heart hurt.

Jim,

2011-02-13T17:07:00.000-08:00

Remember our first Valentine's Day together? Oh how it was so romantic. You came over after work and I labored all night to cook you dinner. We ate in candlelight and danced under the black sky.

Oh wait, I picked up Jack in the Box on the way home from work and we ate it then made out. Oh yes, your favorite...Jack in the Box. Those were the days when you would send me flowers at work just to show me how much you loved me. The days where we could just pick up and go out to eat and do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. The day's of being honeymooner's and using flirtatious gestures. Oh how I remember those days.

Here's to the new days of our Valentine's Day's going forward and leaving behind all of the above:( Either way, I love you Megastud and the kids you've helped me make in the meantime. hugs and kisses to my Max & Molly.

I love you!

The Shalene sleep Theory

2011-02-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

So as I mentioned, there are a bunch of "sleep" theories out there. None of them worked for us. Well, it's only been a little over a week, but I think we've got it all figured out. The problem with Max's sleep was his own bed. I truly believe it was his crib. He would scream and scream and be so pissed off. He's had his big boy bed now for about 10 days and his sleeping habits have drastically changed. He no longer screams and no longer wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. He doesn't fight me (most of the time) to go to bed. We walk into his room together and he gets up on his bed and lays down. There are times when I have to repeat myself over and over again, but he ends up putting himself to sleep.

Today around 11:30am I asked him to go in his room and lay down to take a nap. He shook his head "no". I asked him again, and he slowly walked himself into his room and laid down on his bed. I shut the door and I could hear him whine a little. About 15 seconds later I hear the door open. He peeks his head out. I tell him again to go lay down and he runs to his bed and lays down. This happens one more time and it all ends with him doing it all by himself and sleeping for 2 hours. I am so proud of my little bear. I mean it's not perfect and there are times I still want to punch myself in the face, but our theory worked. We didn't have to have him cry it out. We didn't have to learn any new techniques. We changed the bed and let him know that we are here and did not abandon him at night. He's a little guy, he just wants to know that we are going to be here when he wakes up in the night. He was just teaching us patience. And still is teaching us every day.

My handsome big boy...

So I don't know about you, but we EAT for fun. This is about the only thing that our weekends consist of. So yes, we went to the Lob (Red Lobster) on Friday and Chevy's on Saturday. I have no idea why I was taking picture's. Probably because this is what we do for fun. Maybe we should start thinking of better ideas.

Yes, she finally can open her mouth and eat. As you can see not very well, but we are working on it.

Update to the last post....

2011-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Last night:

Stayed in Max's room right by his bed. 9:00pm.
He eventually cried, cried some more, then laid himself down, tossed around and fell asleep.

Total time to get my child to bed: 30 minutes

Today's nap:

Put him down in his bed with his blanket and told him it was time for sleepies. shut the door
Played with his toys, banged on the door, played with the blinds, banged on the door. Laid himself down in his bed. (I know because I was peeking under the door ).....don't worry, I know I'm totally crazy!
Is now asleep

Total time to get my child to bed: 30 minutes

I can handle 30 minutes. Hopefully he is understanding what is happening and the time can get shorter.

A failure as a Mother.

2011-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Yep, I've decided that this is true. I have totally failed as a mother. For the past 8 months I have been stressed out with Max's sleeping habits. We've tried every method out there. I'm not sure all of you realize how many sleeping methods there are, but holy crap, there are a ton. As a mom, I should have realized that you have to "teach" your child to go to sleep on their own. Max always slept through the night when he was a baby so I didn't think of it. I thought you rocked your baby to sleep. I thought that is just what you do. We had him screaming it out for 3 months when he was 10 months old. We tried staying in the room with him at night. We've tried everything. I can NOT get my child to go to sleep. His naps are not nearly as bad as night time. If we can finally get him to sleep, he will usually wake up once or twice a night screaming like we just saw'd off his leg. It takes a good 30 minutes to get him to go back to sleep. I finally took him to the doctor and he said it might be night terrors. Well then he realized he had an ear infection so he thought it was that. Well, the good news is his ear infection is gone. Bad news is he still is waking up and will NOT got to sleep. We figured since he wont go to sleep anyway to transition into a toddler bed. The first 3 nights were really good. Last night was the worst. He woke up every hour crying. Not because he fell out of bed, but just because.

I thought I would also mention, Max does not have a "lovely" as they say it. He doesn't take a binky, doesn't have a blankie, he doesn't have anything to comfort him.

Right now I put him down for a nap and in no way does he want to sleep. He should be so tired from last night's marathon. I don't know if I should put him back into his crib or if I should just continue to work at this. I don't know how to get him to go to sleep on his own and stay asleep. Everyone tells me to just let him cry it out. Well, we do and he never goes to sleep. He will poop his pants because he screams so hard so it turns into a 4 hour ordeal. Eventually after hours of this we will just go get him and he will fall asleep on us. I'm giving up because I don't know what else to do. I don't have all night to listen to my child scream his head off. I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning. If it only took an hour then maybe, but my child is way too stubborn...

Heavenly Father must have known that I would be going through this because he gave me Molly who sleeps like a champ. She can put herself to sleep and she has slept all night since she was about 3 weeks old. Still, Max is going to be 18 months on the 18th and he acts like a newborn sometimes. I just wish there was someone else out there that has a kid like this. Am I really the only one? Any help or suggestions would be great.

I just went in to check on Max and he was sound asleep on his bed.....and it only took him an hour and a half....

Miss Molly.

2011-01-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

Molly is almost 5 months and she is getting more fun each day. She has rolled over a few times but hasn't for a while now. I tried giving her some rice cereal, but she isn't having it. She doesn't understand the spoon concept and I don't think she likes the taste of it. I mean would you? ha ha As much as we love Max, here are a few pics of Molly. Minus her spit up, she really is the perfect baby.

Daddy and Molly

Max just relaxing.

We gave a popsicle to Molly for the first time. She didn't really like it that much. After we threw the popsicle away, we realized it was the sour kind. oops!

She love the Johnny jump up. She doesn't quite stand on your lap just yet, but she's getting there.

She loves her little lamb so much !!!

Max just sending some emails.

Molly wanting to trade in the bottle for the real good stuff.

Tori, our newest Mia Maid (left). We celebrated her bday with some YO dipity.

Almost there........oh the day they can hold their own bottle :)

Stacey, me and Kisha took a girls night last weekend. We ate and danced and had a good time. Oh, and talked about kids and pooping the whole time. It's funny how topics have changed from 10 years ago. These are my 2 greatest friends clear back from grade school and junior high.

And it comes to an end......

2011-01-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

NEW YEARS EVE:

Calli and I decided we wanted to get dressed up to go nowhere. So I wont this fur coat in a Young Women's activity and have never worn it. So I figured it was the perfect night for a fur coat. (and fishnet stockings) We made our husbands dress up too. Molly got to wear her tutu. I really ended up just looking like an old drunk lady from the 80's.

We wanted to go somewhere fancy, so we ended up at Chili's.

haha

Beware of the scandalous picture below. I can't believe they would do something like that. So now it's on my blog. haha

Molly..........drooling.

We stopped by my brother Eric's house afterward since we didn't feel like driving all over the place. We felt bad because they just put their kids to bed and they were getting ready to watch a movie with just the two of them. So we busted in on their party......

Michael and Calli

Kim and Eric

Me and Jim

Max trying to figure out why there is nothing in the glass.

All of us toasting at midnight while watching the ball drop. Nothing like good ol' Martinelli's. Well there is much better stuff but for us mormon's I guess it works :( haha

Molly wearing ear muffs.

We ended up getting the kids out of bed and lighting off firecrackers. This is Nash holding his ears. Max hated the firecrackers, they were too loud for him.

We left on New Years day to Craig, CO to visit Jim's family. We drove for 14 hours each way. Surprising, our kids did awesome. We threw a DVD in and they were good.

This is Max trying to shovel the drive way.

Max hated the snow at first. Then we just realized that he hated the boots and gloves.

We all went shooting. I shot Jim's Glock for the first time.

He thinks he is so cool.....

We came home to our sleepy bear

Both the red baron's on Grandma B.

Rochelle (Jim's sister) and the kids.

Grandma B and Molly

Our pitiful snowman. The snow wasn't good so Jim could only make a tiny one.

Molly giving the snowman huggies.

Max looking at the snowman

Max giving the snowman "wackies"....his head fell off.

All in all, we had a good holiday. Since Kirk and his family were in town, we had our family pics done. The camera battery was dying so we only had 2 takes. Not so bad considering there is 14 grandkids.

Our Christmas

2010-12-31T12:23:00.000-08:00

We went paintballing on Christmas Eve. It was super fun.

Yes, we had matching outfits to wear the Sunday before Christmas. Whatever...hahaha..I know I'm a nerd.

Christmas Jammies.

A few of Max's toys.

Max loves doggies. Harley and Duke were tied up at Uncle Brock's house and Max decided to sit with them to keep them company.

Fox and Max. (cousins) Grandma & Grandpa gave them matching shirts.

Our theme this year for our gift exchange was shirts with either crazy sayings or crazy anything. Everybody got a shirt.

Kindel, Molly and Jim just hanging out in the grass

Molly attempting to figure out what opening a present is. Didn't quite figure it out. But then again either did Max.

We had a good Christmas. We all made music video's this year, even my Mom and Dad. It was stressful to get it done before Saturday but in the end it was totally worth it. Everbody's was so funny. We spent Christmas at Brock and Jesica's this year. It turned out really good. Kirk and his family were in town for a week and I'm pretty sure we spent every day at my Mom and Dads house hanging out. It was fun to hang out with the entire family more than just every 2 months or so. Here is our video. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAUSE THE MUSIC ON MY BLOG TO LISTEN.

2010-12-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

Love, Max

Baby Jesus

2010-12-19T16:01:00.002-08:00

I had the opportunity to teach the Christmas lesson in Young Women's today. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on Christmas and Jesus Christ. There are those few times that I do every year during Christmas, which is sad, but I have felt the spirit of Christ much more already this year. I think now that I have kids it touches me a ton more to watch and read of the Nativity scene. I wish I could be there to witness the spirit there in the manger. I wish I could hold Mary's hand and watch Baby Jesus be born. I look at my little baby girl and can't even imagine how much love Mary had for this baby. It truly touches me so much more.

I went to the Christian Dance Company's production at Mesa high last night. It goes to show you that through dancing and music you can touch someone. The spirit was felt so strong last night. They danced from the birth to the death of Jesus Christ. I was crying, my Dad who was sitting next to me was crying. My Mom and sister were both dancing in the show as a Grandmother and a Mother.

I get caught up in the world at Christmas and a part of me wants to take everything back. The presents, the treats, the parties, the ornaments, the gift wrap and all the Christmas carols. I want my kids to know how special of a season this is. To know the greatest gift we have ever been given. To celebrate the birth of our Savior. He was born, lived and died for every single one of us. Christmas is for Baby Jesus and I hope that I can always remember that and that only.

My top 10...or 11 things at Christmas

2010-12-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

11. LIGHTS

I love sparkly things anyway, but Christmas lights and Christmas time is the best. We dont' have a ton on our house but we have them. And I make sure they are inside the house too.

10. Christmas Pajamas

You have to open jammies on Christmas Eve. My mom ended the tradition. I guess now that I'm 31 this is ok, but I'm still dissapointed I dont get any on Christmas Eve. It's ok, Jim and I are going to continue this with our kids. This year they are going to get matching Xmas jammies...so cute!! I won't be making them, I will be BUYING them. haha

9. PRESENTS

Who doesn't love presents? I do! I love getting them and giving too.

8. CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Especially, Bing Crosby. I'm so thankful for him and the fantastic music he has brought us at Christmas time. I start the day after Thanksgiving and end on Christmas night. I love it! It's on in the car, at work and at home. I even got Jim to somewhat like it this year. (he admitted)

7. EGGNOG

Jim thinks this is the nastiest drink ever invented. I LOVE IT! I love when I start to see it in the stores. I can drink the whole bottle myself. I have to get the reduced fat bottle cause let's be honest...it has way too many calories. To add, anything eggnog is fantastic. Eggnog frozen yogurt....

6. GOODIES

I love baking at Christmas. I usually make goodies for my friends and neighbors, but even more I like to receive goodies at my house. If you don't gain 10lbs at Christmas, you have issues....

5. KARAOKE

We haven't followed through with this tradition for the past 2 years, but it's coming back. I can feel it. We used to stay up tiil 3 in the morning singing. Kirk usually carried this tradition, so hopefully we can bring it back this year. Plus, Jim hasn't really been initiated yet....you have to sing a song by yourself in the Huffaker family. If you don't.....well......

4. PUMPKIN PIE

Once Halloween is here, Pumpkin pie is here and doesn't end until Christmas is over. You need one at Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas and a few times in between.

3. CHRISTMAS TREE SMELL

For those of you that have a fake tree in your home, this is the most fantastic smell to buy. You walk in your house and you think you have a real tree. It's the best, I promise you!!

2. CHRISTMAS TREE

My favorite thing is the decorate the tree. I usually have a different theme ever year. This year is all GOLD. I don't know what I'm going to do when my kids start bringing me home homeade ornaments...what am I going to do with them? They can't go on MY tree? hahaha

1. CHRIST

Remember the birth of our Savior and being able to celebrate it makes Christmas. I do get caught up in the worldly side of Christmas, but I always remember to take a step back. This picture was in the Ensign this month and it made me gasp. Not actually break down in tears, but close. I think that being a Mom has made me more emotional when it comes to babies and life. The birth of our Savior must have been amazing. Imagine being there to witness it. I can only imagine.

Back to work....and CHRISTMAS TIME!!

2010-12-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am back to work and it's ok. I think the time away from my kids is good for me. It gives me a few hours to have adult conversation and to do something other than take care of kids. It's not so much fun waking up at 4:30am, but getting off at noon makes it ok, I guess. My kids are behaving themselves for Kami (my babysitter). Which makes me so happy cause I was so worried Molly was going to be a nightmare. She has been really happy lately so I"m hoping it's just because she's getting older. She is on reflux medicine so maybe that is making a difference too. She still spits up a lot, but it's much better than it used to be.

Christmas is in a week and a half and I feel like I still have so much left to do. How is this possible when I only have 2 babies? I think I am just used to not having ANYTHING to do, so once I have things that need to be done, I'm not used to it. We got our Christmas pictures done. Calli took them and they turned out pretty good. Calli had good skills, it's just hard with 2 babies trying to get both of them to look at the camera. And if both of them were looking, me and Jim looked weird. Maybe just because our outfits were so dang cute they looked really good. I found Max and Molly's at Sears. I got both for $35.00. I thought they were so cute. I made Jim a matching bow tie. I have a dress that still needs to be sewn that matches Molly's but I haven't gotten around to it. I'm trying to get it done before Sunday. I mean it's the Sunday before Christmas, you have to matching outfits right? haha..I know I'm a total nerd, but I'm ok with it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

TOUCHDOWN!!

Molly loves her Daddy!!

It looks like I'm going to eat the camera...or Max....Max looks scared too!! haha

Thanksgiving Yumminess

2010-11-26T15:53:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving started out with the Turkey Trot. I was super mad that I forgot to take a picture of all of us that ran. Kyle, Kim, Fox, Mom and our family all got our numbers and took on the 5K. Kyle and Kim pushed Fox and Max in their double jogger. I can't believe how fast they were with that extra 50lbs slowing them down. They still managed to beat me by 3 minutes. I was having trouble with my asthma so I had to walk at certain times. It was really fun! Oh and Mom pushed Molly in the stroller the whole way.

It was a small gathering this year, but still so much fun. Just us and my Dad's brother's family. I am thankful for them because they fit in with our weird family. We have a lot of fun on the rare times we get to hang out. We were just missing Calli and Michael and Noah this year. Oh and of course Kirk & Bonnie and family. They'll be here for Christmas so it should be a good time.

(From left to right) Kyle, Kim, Fox, Brock, Jesica, Fenix, Dad, Nash, Mom, Josie, Alven, Eric, Kim, Nixon, Jim, Max, ME, Darin, Lori, Molly and Jaxson. All are Huffaker's but us of course.

Our quick snapshot of the family.

Max playing in the backyard.

Max was trying to put on Jim's boots. Jim helped him a little bit and I think the fit !!

My cute little Molly.

The collage tells a story. Start with the top move down to the right then move left. Sort of funny!!

2010-11-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

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Can I get a break please????

2010-11-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I took some benadryl for my allergies. I forget that the pills make me extremely sleepy. Molly had been sleeping for about 25 minutes and I finally got Max down for a nap. Finally, I could lay my head down on this pillow and sleep for just a few minutes. Not even 5 seconds later, Molly started barking in the next room. I let her keep crying to see if she would go back to sleep. After about 5 minutes and the crying was turning into screaming, I got up and attended to her needs. As I got off the bed, I yelled" come on, can I just get a break?" Well, all day long I was thinking to myself about how nice it would be for once in a while to get a break....Well today it happened. I was dreading jury duty all week long and today I was called off and do not have to go. I got my break......I feel a bit lucky today!!!! So I don't feel so bad for not being able to close my eyes yesterday. Today I did not take any benadryl..hahahahaha

Molly is now 2 1/2 months and Max is 15 months. Molly is now cooing and smiling like crazy. We are trying to get her to laugh, but no dice. She weighed 14 lbs 14 oz at her 2 months appointment. She is in the 100% raking in weight and 97% for height.

Max says few words but says alot that we don't understand. He tries to sing along to deck the halls. He can say Dada and cracker. He can fold his arms and name au few body parts. When someone yells "touchdown" he can motion it with his arms. He can bring me a few things if he knows what they are. He can also say "side" for outside. Max weighed 26 lbs and is in the 90% in weight and 97% in height. Apparently I have some pretty big kids.

The Bouncy slide....

2010-11-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Molly's blessing day 11/7/2010

2010-11-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

Jim blessed Molly and it was beautiful. She looked so pretty! Grandma and Grandpa Barainca came into town and so did Uncle Kirk.

We had our YW retreat in Heber, AZ this past weekend. We stayed at Bishop's cabin and then went to Snowflake to do baptism's for the dead. The YW had a blast and so did I.

I was in the kitchen cleaning up and came into the family room and this is what I found. My sister says that he is learning from our bad habits. I say "what bad habit"? This is a habit, but definitely not bad. For Max, I don't like giving him caffeine, but this once wont kill him. He's a silly bear.

Driving School

2010-11-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, I received a photo radar ticket in the mail for running a red light. I knew I got flashed, but I was so mad about it. I was following another car and I looked down at Max for one second and realized the light was yellow. I didn't know how long the light was yellow for, but as soon as that flash hit me, I knew I was screwed. I am still mad about it. I was excited when I found out that you can take traffic school online. I was excited. That was until I was actually in the middle of the 4 hour course that you had to actually pay attention to. Objects will pop up randomly on your computer screen and you have to write them down. They test you on the objects. So you HAVE to pay attention. I can't decide which is worse, actually going to Driving school or being stuck at your computer for 4 hours. Let's just say it was a very long night. I had to capture the moment.

HALLOWEEN 2010

2010-10-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

Halloween started this year with a party on Friday night at my folks house. The whole family came over all dressed up. We each were given an assignment with something to bring. It was all "scary" food. I had SLIMEY WORMS and candy corn cupcakes. This was basically cut up boiled hot dogs mixed with bbq sauce on a bun. When you boiled the sliced hot dogs it made them curl a bit and look like worms. So everyone had something that looked scary So even though the food looked cool, it was all just nasty. Except for the mummy's. Which were pigs in a blankets with eyes. Those were good. We ended up ordering a couple of pizza's from Hungry Howies ! Don't tell my mom cause it will hurt her feelings. But it was fun to make the food!! Jim and I were Zombies, Max was a spider and Molly was a bee. I was so impressed that my Mom and Dad actually dressed up this year. They looked awesome. Minus my Dad's chest hair. Here are the pumpkins we carved. I carved a cat and Jim carved "R.I.P."

Saturday morning we did the walk for Juvenile Diabetes. We walked it with our friend Stacey and her son Ethan. It was a hot day and we all got sunburned. It was a good time and it was for a good cause. We were part of the "E" team.

Saturday we went to our ward party. Ate some pie and left. Max had fun running around the gym and seeing all the other kids dressed up. We decided to go with a family theme. Jim was a referre, Max and I were football players and Molly was the cheerleader. Of course it was for the Bronco's team. (cause they are so good ) yeah right!..haha Jim will get mad at me once he reads this. Our night ended up at my folks house again and taking Max trick-or-treating a bit and seeing his cousins once again. My dad got pneumonia that day but he still managed to ride his Harley down the street with Pete on the back. Pete is a life size skeleton that he fastens to his motorcycle during the Halloween season. It's really funny. The kids fell asleep on the way home and went right to bed. It was nice.

Molly's outfit was a bit small. I made it too small and didn't want to make a new one so I made it fit her. She hated it all night. I had an orange netted skirt to go under the blue one, but it kept itching her and she was crying so I had to take it off. It made me so sad.

Of course Max didn't wear the helmet. I made him wear it for most of the pictures. He hated it and ended up smearing his black paint under his eyes in all directions.

Notice the picture peeker in the back!!!

6 week mark. :)

2010-10-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, I had my dr's appointment today since it has been 6 weeks since Molly was born. He gave me the OK to resume marital activities. (which makes Jim really happy). I had to decide on the spot what kind of birth control I wanted. I had no idea what I wanted since obviously we didn't use any last time. (hello Molly!) So many decisions. I just told the doctor to put me on whatever was 150% effective.

I like the 6 week mark. Both Max and Molly were more mature. They eat and sleep better and cry a little less. They start to hold their head up all the time and they can smile. Not only are they better, but I feel better.

So, I wanted a family picture of all 4 of us and this is what I got. I think it's fantastic. What you didn't see is Max pushing Molly's face away cause he was super annoyed. Actually, more like shoving her face away from him.

This was our 2nd attempt at a picture. Max was super mad that Molly had to sit in his lap.

Max likes to find Molly's hair bows and try to put it on her head. It ends up usually right on top or in her lap. It's cute that he tries.

Molly can SMILE!! She has been smiling like crazy as of the past week. She's been "cooing" and making noises other than screaming. It's super cute. Jim and I love it!!

In about a week or 2 she will finally be ready for the BUMBO. We gave it shot but you can tell she gets tired of holding her head up and then she gives up.

Molly has hit the 6 week mark. Things are getting better each day. She is sleeping through the night which makes mommy super happy. She weighs probably 12 lbs by now. At her 4 week appt she weighed 11.6 lbs. She's in the 97th percentile in height and weight. Jim is super excited, but I'm more like, "aren't girls supposed to be petite"? ha ha...She will probably be a big girl like her Mom :(

Jimbo's Got Fears Too

2010-10-16T10:02:00.000-07:00

Fear #1: FREEWAY MATTRESSES, a motorcyclist's worst nightmare.

Fear #2: Becoming the type of old person that I talk to every day. You know the type; they have nothing to do but worry. They become very worried when they don't understand something, and at the same time they don't understand anything. So every waking moment they're in a constant state of worry. I've talked to people who couldn't sleep the night before because they got something completely innocuous in the mail that they didn't understand. Or the type that calls their paperboy at 6 in the morning if the newspaper hasn't been delivered yet because it throws them off of their daily routine. Or the type that take 12 different over-the counter medicines, mostly just to counter each other's side effects. I sometimes wonder if they know what they were trying to treat in the first place. What misery.

Fear #3: Max and Molly becoming teenagers. If I want to kick the crap out of myself as a 13 year old, how will I react to my kids? Seriously, I don't know how my parents didn't call Montel Williams to sign me up for one of his boot-camp shows. I definitely deserved it. I fear teenage karma.

Fear #4: Germs. I like to wash my hands. A lot. Shalene makes fun of me. 'Nuff said.

Fear #5: That all these pretentious "nutrition experts" are right when they say diet soda is bad for you. I still say they're full of crap. But I guess we'll know in a few years if I weigh 300 lbs and have 8 different forms of cancer. COKE ZERO, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doomsayer diaries...

2010-10-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Fear #1

I got home from mutual tonight not feeling well. Not sure if I'm getting sick or if my kids are wearing me down. I wasn't too happy today and had a bit of the bored blues. Either way, I sat on the floor complaining to Jim that I need something. I am not sure what that something is, but I need it. I need a break, a new body, to go shopping, a vacation, a new hair do, something yummy, a divorce (so I would only have the kids 1/2 the time, not because I really want a divorce)....I don't know what I need but I know I need something. I'm sure he was looking at me like I was a total nut job. At this moment Molly started vomiting and choking. I ran to pick her up and she was still vomiting and NOT breathing. Jim grabbed her out of my hands and started patting her on the back. Still NOT breathing. Milk started shooting out of her nose and she was dry heaving. She kept pulling her head back and she wouldn't breathe. She finally started to breathe a little but kept arching her back and dry heaving. As you can assume, Jim and I were freaking out. She started to calm down after 2 minutes with small whimpers.

A newborn vomiting, choking and NOT breathing is very scary. What would we have done if she didn't start breathing? Do I really know CPR? Would I be able to remember how to do it if the time came? Would the paramedics come in time to save her? What if they didn't? What if we lost Molly?

See, these are the things I think about on a weekly basis. Jim calls me "negative nancy". I know that I am an extreme DOOMSAYER. Being a parent is scary. It is our responsibility to keep these children alive. Am I really smart enough to do this?

Fear #2

The other night Jim and I got a date night. I really, really needed this. Calli and Michael (my sister & hubby) watched Max and Molly for about 3 hours. As we were getting into our car to leave the house, Michael was going to pick up a pizza around the corner. I told him he should take Max, he would have fun. So he did.

As we pull out the driveway, I began to think......What if he got in a car accident and Max was hit and died? What would I do? Putting his life in someone else's hands is scary. If I was the one that got in the accident, I would be there with him. It would be different. So yes, the thought of Max in a car without me kind of scares me. Only because I am a doomsayer.

Fear #3

I hear of stories where the Mom or Dad leaves their child in the car for hours in 100 degree weather and the child dies. I hear of children getting run over with a family members vehicle. I hear of kids drowning in their back yard pool. I hear of kids running into the street and getting hit by a car. I hear of kids wandering away from home and go missing while the parents were napping.

These are all scenarios that can easily be avoided. However, they are all scenarios that we are all capable of letting happen. We say they wouldn't happen, but would they? I am terrified that I will accidently run over someone, let alone Max. I am terrified that I wont be paying attention for 2 minutes and Max will run into the street or fall into the pool. As much as I think it wouldn't happen to me, I am guilty of letting 2 minutes pass and wondering, "where is Max"? I think these kinds of things happen because they happen. I'm scared to death that they will happen. and to me.

CHANGING THE SUBJECT:

Jim and I started running. Maybe I can lose some of this fat on my body.
15 lbs to go to get back to normal. Then I need to shed another 10.

What my scales shows me.

Eric's Kim (sis-in law) made this little skirt for Molly. It finally fits her. So cute. Molly is now smiling. Things are looking up for not only her, but me. I think we are both getting happier.

Max apparently hates the motorcycle. We didn't really care and made him sit there anyway. I finally blew off the inch thick dust off my motorcycle and took it for a spin. Good thing Jim took it out first because the front brake didn't work. I could see that going really well...

Jim became handy and fixed the brake. It only took him 4 hours. (I'm pretty sure it should have taken 20 minutes) But he fixed it and that is all that matters.....right?

I sewed the little ruffles on the back of this onezy for a tu-tu effect. ( not worth the effort I put into it) And what better accessory to add other than the ol' legwarmers. Cause you need warm legs in 98 degree weather right?

I am now drinking a 6-pack of soda a day. This might sound really gross to most of you. I don't care, it's life. Since I am depriving myself of good food, I head straight for the can for comfort.

2010-10-06T09:26:00.001-07:00

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My day in real life.

2010-09-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already October. It doesn't seem like fall since it's still 107 degrees outside, but Fall is here. Halloween is just around the corner and I'm super excited. Molly will be a month old next week and that is something to be excited about too. The older they get the less shrieking of a cry they have. Wait, Max just started crying just now so maybe I take that back. Maybe less shrieking but way more annoying. I've been praying for patience lately. When Max starts whining or crying I have these awful thoughts that run through my head. I hope to never act upon them, but it comes real close sometimes. So I pray for the patience not to be a super mean mommy. Today as I was trying to get something accomplished, I took a step back and observed what was really going on. I thought I would share what I observed. Enjoy!

Molly is getting chubby. She still is super gassy and I wish that she could chill out just a little bit. Max loves to do whatever Jim and I are doing. So yes it's cute, but still very annoying. When Molly cries, he runs to her and looks at her. Sometimes I think he's saying, "Molly what is wrong with you"? He even tried to put her binky in her mouth cause she was crying. She isn't very good with binkies so she wasn't having it.

Things that help me get through my day....

2010-09-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

So for anyone that actually reads my blog, I apologize. I don't blog so everyone can have an update on my life. I blog because at the end of the year, I print my blog into a book to keep as a "scrapbook" or "journal entry" for the year. I make sure to blog on everything we do and somewhat of how I am feeling at that certain point. So if I seem depressed or overly excited it's only because I write exactly how I feel so I can read about it later and years from now to remember. So don't think I'm crazy for being so "open".

So for the last 2 and a half weeks I can honestly say I've been so bored. Extremely busy changing diapers and feeding and trying to entertain Max, but bored out of my mind. I want to go somewhere but the effort that it would take just leaves me at home all day. I went to go pick up Max from my friend Kami's house on Tuesday with the intentions of going somewhere after. I ended up in my driveway with the car still on just sitting there. I texted Jim "where should I go"?. He text back "I'm of no help". So I sat in my car for another 5 minutes and ended up going inside for the rest of the day. It's tough taking care of 2 babies and I can't imagine doing this again when Molly is a year. Well, I WONT be doing it again. It's been kind of a nightmare. Everyone says it will be nice when they are older. We shall see.....haha

Anyway, today I was trying to think about all the things that make me smile. Because I haven't been doing much of that lately.

Molly sleeping. As much as I like to see her cute face, I love when she's asleep. I can re-gain some sanity I still have left.

My cutest little guy ever. This was taken before I sent him off to church with Jim. So handsome.

This Moses basket was a gift from Bobbi for Molly. When Molly is awake and not using it, Max likes to lounge in it. We call it his boat. He makes me laugh.

My morning beverage. Such happiness should be restricted. It's the only thing that gets me through my day. There is nothing better than waking up and hearing that pop can crack open. What would I do without it?

My friend Stacey. She calls and checks in with me almost every day to see how I am doing. Being a Mom of 2, she knows what I am going through with 2 little babies. I am at home all day talking to babies so it's nice to have someone that is an adult to talk to. It's nice to have a good friend. Hopefully I can learn from her and return the favor.

The church. I have made so many friends in my ward and since I am in Young Women's I have a lot of little friends too. The girls are so awesome and "good" girls. They are all just great. All the leaders that I work with are so cool too. It makes my calling so much fun...(and going to church). Knowing the"plan" makes every day worth it for me. When I think of the eternal family it just makes me think of my kids differently. It comforts me to know that by living the gospel and doing what I should be, everything will be ok. Maybe not the way I hoped for and definitely not perfect, but it will be ok.

Got to love girls camp! My Miamaids LeAndra and Emma

And LAST, but definitely not least...my super hot husband Jim. He is there for me when I am crying my eyes out or when I am having a freak attack and reassures me that everything will be fine. He never worries about a thing. He puts up with me when I've gone a week without putting make-up on or even getting dressed. He listens to me complain about everything and somehow still loves me. He honors his Priesthood and fulfills his calling and is the best Dad I could ask for. When he walks through the door from working all day, he doesn't complain about changing Molly's diaper or holding her because she's screaming. He just does it all. I married the greatest guy!! And look how hot he is? (even if that was 4 years ago)...haha

The "breakdown"

2010-09-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

I knew it was going to come this time around with Molly, I just didn't know when. I actually broke down one night because I was anticipating the "breakdown". This "breakdown" is the moment when you know longer know what to do with yourself and all is lost. I went through this the first 3 weeks with Max from the day he was born. With Molly I was fine. I thought, Heavenly Father must have blessed me with this angel because he knew I would have a melt down if she was anything like Max. Well, it was day 13 and I finally broke down. Molly had been screaming because of a tummy ache and I knew she just needed to poop but I nothing I did was helping her. I fully blame myself. I was giving her tummy aches and there was nothing that I could do about it. Now I will tell you why I feel this way:

During this pregnancy I told myself that I would try and breast feed much longer than I did with Max (3 months). In the hospital she was such a good "latcher" and she ate so good. By the end of the day I could feel me getting sore and I knew what was ahead of me. The Leche people always say if it hurts or you are in pain you are not doing it right. Well, I don't believe that. No matter if you do it right or not, it is still going to hurt. Molly decided to be a "super sucker" and tear me apart. By day 4 my girlie twins were cracked and bleeding. Skin was actually coming off and when I pumped at night, I would pump blood into the bottle. I finally went to a breastfeeding class cause I figured they could offer me tips on how to recover. No tips. I had been doing it all right I just had to keep breastfeeding cause that is what is most important. So I kept on for a couple more days. Still no relief and crying because it hurt so bad. Clinching my teeth in agony. Then one night I noticed one of the twins was very tender and hurt to the slightest touch. I woke up that night with the chills and felt like I had the flu. Yep, I got mastitis in my left twin. I had to call the doctor and start antiobotics. I finally had had enough. With Max on my side crying and Molly on my boob and the house turned upside down and I still had not had my morning Diet Mountain Dew, I said THAT IS IT!!! I can't do this. I am not going to stress myself out to the point I go crazy. So what if I am not the best Mom. So what if I don't breast feed my child until they are a year old. SO WHAT!!! I am an OK mom and I take care of my children. If I can't be sane, then I can't be a good mom anyway.

The nurse told me to put a sports bra on and do not touch my twins at all. So I stopped nursing. I went 5 days and on day 5 (yesterday) I had the breakdown. I threw a blanket over my head and started crying. Molly was screaming and I did this to her. The formula made her constipated and gassy and now she is uncomfortable. I made her uncomfortable so I could be in less pain. I wanted a take back. I felt like the worst mom ever! I told Jim that I was going to start pumping and get my milk back. I knew it wouldn't take long because I still felt it come in. I was panicing and didn't know what to do. I had already gone 5 days of trying to dry up my milk. If I started nursing again it would be for nothing. I knew I would hate every second of breastfeeding and I would be in so much pain I would be absolute crazy. Jim said I should do what my motherly intuition said to do. All mom's intuition is to breast feed so that didn't work. I had my shirt up and I was ready. But I didn't. Molly ended up pooping and she has been an angel all day today. AND so have I.

So here is my conclusion. I give mad props to all those who breastfeed their babies. Everyone knows it is what is best for your babies. BUT, I take care of 2 babies and I change their diapers and I love them and give them huggies and kisses and make sure they eat and give them baths so they are clean. I do the best I can. Even if it puts me as the 2nd greatest Mom, I am okay with that. So I'm sorry to all the breastfeeding Nazi's out there that think I am a bad mom. I think Molly and I will be just OK. (except when the formula causes her to contract ocular herpes). hahaha

Oh, and it was my birthday on the 11th. We went to Red Robin. Real fun.

Molly Mae Barainca is here!

2010-09-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

She finally decided to come. Molly was born Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 4:30 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was 21.5 in long. She came fast which I will thank her every day for. I wandered into the hospital unwillingly around 11:30 am. They started my IV and I waited. They broke my water around 4:25 pm and Molly popped out at 4:30 pm. It was such a relief pain wise to have her out but the fact that she was healthy and beautiful was all I could ask for. I was completely shocked to see her BLACK hair and had to re-evaluate what my image of Molly would be. I imagined her to look like Max but a girl. She does look like Max, but she has jet black hair. She looks just like her Daddy. (and nothing like me :( ). haha. She has been the best baby so far. She eats and sleeps and poops and sleeps some more. My soreness is almost nothing considering how fast she was born. I feel like a million bucks besides looking like I'm still 6 months pregnant. haha

Jim is the greatest Dad and loves his little girl. He helps me with Max since he wants to crawl all over me all the time. Max loves his little sister and thinks she is so cute. He is "nice and soft " to her so far. But we shall see what happens in the time to come. He likes to throw things in her bassinet and luckily she hasn't been in there at those times. I need to somehow teach him, but teaching a ONE year old anything is really difficult. We are all sane and all doing good which is a lot to say from when Max was born. However, it's only been 3 days so it could get a lot worse. She just might be too cute to give Mommy a mental breakdown. Probably not, but I am hoping for the best.

Molly, It's time.

2010-08-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

I'm to the point in this pregnancy where it's time to have this baby. I'm so big moving is a task. Jim's T-shirts are becoming too small and I don't have any more clothes to wear. We just finished Molly's room and besides her being here, I think we're ready. Mentally ready? No, of course not. Our home however, is. Max and his sleeping habits have been much of a task the past month. However, I think his sleep is good enough. He still cries every time we put him down to go "night night", but anywhere from 2-20 minutes he falls asleep and sleeps sound through the night. Which was NOT happening for the past few months. I don't know what it was, but since about 8 months, he wanted to wake up 1-2 times a night. It was really frustrating and with Molly on the way we knew we had to fix it. We have him potty trained as well. He sits on the big boy potty and does his business all by himself.

Just kidding. hahaha, wouldn't that be the most amazing thing you ever heard of?

I went to bed last night at 8:45 a little depressed. As most of you know Molly has given me quite the gift this pregnancy of varicose veins. I'm not talking about one or two spider veins. I'm talking like mamma jamma big blue veins running in and out of my legs, thighs and other places. My legs look like battle wounds. So last night as I was investigating my pregnant body, I stumbled upon some stretch marks on the bottom of my stomach. I went into a panic. Max didn't give me any stretch marks and I thought I was off the hook forever. Oh no, I now have them and if I don't have this baby soon, who knows how many more I will get. My sister asked me this morning..."look at Max, don't you think they are worth it?" And that is it....They are worth it. Every scar, every pain, every push and every tear. So with all my nasty veins and stretch marks, Molly is worth all of it. As women, I think we go through so much to bear these little boo boo's that these veins and marks are our trophies. I know I probably won't look at them this way when I look into the mirror, but they are. We went through hell and back(sometimes we come back) to bring these little one's here. I've been thinking about it and I think we rock. We are all rockstars. Some more than me, but I'll include myself for now. haha

So cross your fingers that Molly comes this week !!

Max is ONE

2010-08-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Max turned 1 on August 18th. I can't believe that it has been one whole year since he was born. He is such a big boy now and it makes me so sad. He walks with ease and is starting to run. He can feed himself with a fork, he can play ball and he can give things to Daddy when I tell him to. He's really good at throwing fits too. He has learned that he has a temper and likes to exercise it. I'm not a big fan of his temper at all.

As I just sit back and look at him, I am such a proud Mommy. Of course I think he is the cutest kid in the world. The nursery leader invites him in on Sundays to sit with the other kids. He does so good. He sits in his little chair and plays with the play dough and eats his snacks. Once lesson time starts we leave because he doesn't know how to sit still and listen. Plus, I have to go teach my lesson in Young Women's. He loves to play with other kids and gets so excited when other kids come over to the house. It's amazing the things they learn and the things they just do on their own. I've gone through 2 phones in the past month. Once was launched into the toilet by Max and the other was washed with his laundry. I guess I need to check the hamper better before doing a load of Max's clothes.

Max loves to put on his shoes. I think because he knows he gets to go outside. When the front or back door opens, he runs and tries to escape. Once I close the door his temper gets the best of him and flings himself onto the floor and starts pouting. I just walk away since I don't have the patience to deal with it. Just another sign he is getting to be such a big boy. ha ha

I'm a little nervous on how Max is going to react once Molly gets here. He loves little babies and just likes to stare at them and touch their hands. I wonder if he will become a nightmare so he can get attention or if he will love her and be the good little boy I know he can be.

A cake I made that didn't turn out. I tried to make another mold to put on top, but the cake didn't want to come out of the mold. So he ended up with a boring square cake. Sorry Max :(

Grandma Huffaker made little bear cupcakes.

Max looked so handsome at church on Sunday. Especially with the cheeto's residue on his new white shirt.

It finally rained at our house and Max got to go play outside. He was having so much fun letting the water drip into his mouth. He was so sad when he had to go inside.

Jim's work gave us Diamondback tickets. I was dreading going, but it turned out to be ok. Max had a lot of fun waiting for the crowd to applaud. He was a little late, but he joined in. I did enjoy a slurpee and some sugar roasted almonds.

Counting down.

2010-08-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

Molly. 2 weeks and 5 days. Well I had a dr's appointment on Thursday and all is well still. I had an ultrasound and the baby is estimating 7.5lbs. She is showing a week early, but this really means nothing to me. Im sure Molly will stay in until September. We are really excited but nervous at the same time. Max is just starting to sleep good after a really bad couple of months. I read up on some books and did what they told me. So far it seems to be working, but you never know. He is a little angry lately only because I think his molar's are coming in. I hope he likes Molly but Im nervous about how he is going to react to her. I think Molly is going to look just like Jim. (big nose, big lips, brown hair) Which would be a good thing if she was a boy. But either way, she'll be the cutest thing we ever did see.

Max's first haircut

2010-08-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't look much different, but we chopped off a ton of hair this morning. I was super sad, but I was sick of people thinking he was a girl. So I took the clippers and did what was needed to be done. I'm still thinking about taking the middle section and buzzing it off too. I haven't decided yet. Either way he is a big boy now and he looks more like a boy. I'm so sad.

But he's such a cute boy......

BEFORE

AFTER

Our Summer Vacation

2010-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our trip to New York started in Boston, MA. We didn't have a lot of time there because we got too lazy and just wanted to get to our final destination. We stopped and ate lunch at CHEERS.

Once we arrived in Glens Falls, NY (Lake George, NY) we really ate and went to sleep. The next day we decided to float down the river. It's not like floating down the river in AZ. Our family and a couple of other people were the only ones on the river. They make you go on bus with a tour guide. It was so much fun. The weather was perfect. Mostly cloudy with light showers.

Max fell asleep on the bumby bus ride. So cute!

Kirk treated us to dinner on the lake. The view was amazing and the food was pretty good too.

Saturday Jack Huffaker was baptized. It was really cool that we could all be there.

Saturday night we arrived at the lake house on Lake George. It was a million and a half dollar house. It was truly amazing. You can see it in the pic below. This is Max in the field trying to catch bubbles.

For some reason everywhere between Lake George, NY and Vermont, Ice cream is a huge deal. It's all really good, but there are icecream joints everywhere. This was the happening spot at MARTHA's.

Sunday we went to Vermont to see the birthplace of Joseph Smith. This was the monument that took so much effort and pain to get to this beautiful place.

Back on the lake. We spent most of our time on the canoe and kayak's.

Max loving the sand and eating rocks. He loved the water so much.

Tough guys.

Jim jumping off the deck.

We played "minute to win it" one night. I wasn't very good at the deck of cards.

The last night we were at the lake house we had "Pirate night". My folks make dinner which was all pirate themed and then we had to dress up and go for a treasure hunt. It was really fun for the kids.

It was really sad that this was how our trip ended. On the floor of the Boston Airport trying to sleep the night away. Our flight got cancelled and we couldn't get another until the morning. Poor Max had a rough trip.

The day after I got home from New York I headed out to Girls Camp at Camp Lomia. I was there for 5 days. It was good times, but I was really glad to come home and see my husband and little Max. I missed them so much. It was the longest I had been away from them.

2010-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

Jim and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on July 9th. I am once again super pregnant so we didn't do anything too crazy. He took me to PF Changs and we spent the night at the Valley Ho in Scottsdale where we spent our wedding night. It was awesome.

My beautiful flowers from Jim.

I think Max enjoyed it more than we did. He loved the bathtub with the blue lights.

I think this was the best gift I have ever given Jim. He loves his new phone.

Max Has Tricks 2: Max Fu - Da Return

2010-07-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

4th of July and other stuff.

2010-07-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did it again. I stayed up til midnight to see Eclipse with some friends and my sister Calli. We waited in line starting at 4:00pm. I regret this decision, but it turned out to be a good movie and I got to spend time with friends that I really don't get to very much.

Max and Jim are learning to play the keyboard. Max loves it.

Max says "hi".

We are teaching Max how to drive. Better now than later.

We went to the Mesa downtown July 4th celebration this past weekend. It was mostly for bikers, but we ate at Mango's and walked around. It was really hot but we got our snow cones and were able to last a bit longer. I guess it was something to do.

They had these fans that misted and were totally awesome.

Kyle celebrated his birthday a couple weeks ago. They had a BBQ/swim party for him on Saturday. It was good times.

My mom got creative and made some extremely festive cupcakes.

This was taken on the 4th of July. Brock and Jesica came over and we all got up on our roof and watched the fireworks. They were actually pretty good from where we were. Max was put in a firework coma and didn't say much. I think he maybe thought they were cool, but he just sat there and stared at them. Don't mind my puffy face. I'm not sure why it looks so fat. I mean it is, but I think this picture makes me look 60+lbs more than I really am. (I hope)

We then decided to all go swimming at my house on Monday July 5th. Since nobody worked it was needed. Here are a couple shots of Jim and Calli in action of playing good ol' pool games.

Today is also my Mom's birthday. She's not quite the "60", but let's just say she's real....real...real....real...close. (she's going to kill me)

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Max Has Tricks

2010-06-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

A real update. but still not that interesting

2010-06-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Max is starting to take steps. He only has taken 1 or 2, but its a start. He went to his 9 month check up last week. (even though he is 10 months) He weighs 23 lbs!! Such a big boy. He knows how to clap, throw his arms up in the air when we say "touch down" and he can give fives. He still needs work on "bye bye" but Im sure it's right around the corner. He loves to walk on this walker toy we got for him. He cruises now. He has 3 teeth on the bottom and has another 2 growing on top. They aren't all the way in yet. Maybe this is why he wont sleep through the night anymore:( His eating habits aren't as good as I'd like them to be. He only will eat certain things. I didn't know they were already picky at this age. He loves cheese, bread, icecream and soda. He is okay with eating fruit, but the veggie thing he is not down with. Hopefully one day he'll be better.

Jim is just working, bringing home the bacon. He enjoys his nightly video game playing ritual. He has been even more of a "Mr. Mom" lately since I never feel good. I mean not that I am so lazy nothing ever gets done, but he will help with the dishes and he helps a ton with Max. I have grown to become even more impatient lately with Max. He has to step in. When he is impatient with Max, I can usually step in and handle the situation. So it's working out pretty good. He has also been trying to help me get things ready for when Molly comes. He doesn't have any opinions on colors and blanket choices and "cute" things so I know he gets irritated when I ask. He's come to realize that I am extremely high maintenance when I ask for white blinds since we bought a white crib. I mean you can't have a white crib with brown blinds??????

I am growing more tired by the day. My varicose veins are out of control and are popping up in places that I need not say. I can barely sit and stand without having my eyes roll in the back of my head. The pressure that Molly is putting on all my internal goods is a little much. Max didn't do this to me. I can barely get up in the morning to go to work. I swear I'm 30 minutes late every day. BUT, only 8 more weeks of work and I am officially on maternity leave. That does not include the week I am taking off to go to New York and the week I'll be at girls camp. This should be interesting going camping at 8 months pregnant. Not only that but being on a plane for 3+ hours to New York. I can only imagine how swollen I will get. So you know...with the exception of my legs being all "veined up" and I really mean this. They look like 75 yr old legs now. Anyway, with the exception of the legs and the swolleness of my entire you know what, we are all doing pretty good. Just waiting for Molly to come and mess it all up!!! haha Im joking. We are so excited for her to come! 10 weeks and counting! The picture above is of my sister Calli and sis-in law Jesica. We all went to Oregano's for Jesica's birthday!

Shalene